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Viral Week Ep. 255

Science fair foul, teenaged poet, mannequin security, and ancient massacre—it’s Viral Week

Viral Week is our weekly round-up of the weekend’s trending memes, humor, rumor, gossip, and everything else Chinese netizens are chatting about.

This week, there are questions over genius kids’ credentials, a courier company provides false security, a teacher throws a bouquet, and an ancient massacre is unearthed:

Science fair foul

Organizers of the 34th Yunnan Youth Science and Technology Innovation Contest have recently revoked the medal of a primary school student surnamed Chen, who won first place in the competition for a cancer project that bore strong similarities to research by his parents, who are both research fellows at the Kunming Institute of Zoology.

Prolific pen

A 16-year-old girl surnamed Cen attracted notoriety due to claims that she can write 300 ci (a type of poetry-like verse), 3,000 poems, and 15,000 words of a novel per day. She also allegedly published three books within two years, works as a reporter for China International News magazine, and gives lectures across the country. Cen’s father has admitted that the books were privately published, but maintains his daughter can really write that many words per day.

False security

A regional director of courier company ZTO Express in Zhoukou, Henan province, has been reported using a mannequin to staff the X-ray machine for scanning packages, violating counter-terrorism law.

Massacre uncovered

Villagers in Shanxi discovered a 20-meter long plot of earth packed with dense human bones in their corn field. Experts believe the remains may belong to the victims of the Battle of Changping between the Qin and Zhao states, which ended in the infamous massacre of 450,000 Zhao soldiers by the victorious Qin in around 262 to 260 BCE.

Out of the woodwork

Grandpa Amu, a 63-year-old carpenter in Guangxi, has attracted tens of millions of viewers on Youtube with videos showing him working on furniture and ornaments using traditional Chinese carpentry techniques without nails, glue, or any other modern adhesive.

Bad kid banned

A scenic spot in Tonglu, Zhejiang put up a humorous poster denying entry to Zhang Dongsheng, a character from the hit TV series The Bad Kids who pushed in-laws off a cliff. Previously, Liufeng Mountain in Guanxi gained similar notoriety as the shooting location of the scene, prompting staff to clarify that the cliff shown on the show has protective railings in real life.

Flowers of wrath

A teacher surnamed Wang in Shuozhou, Shanxi province, has been removed from her post for flying into a rage when students didn’t send her flowers at the end of the school year. Videos show Ms. Wang throwing a bouquet given to another staff member, shouting at the students, and even spitting at them.

No ear, no fear

A fashion consultant named Li Haoming got one-third of his ear bitten off when he intervened in a sexual assault on the streets of Shanghai. “If it happened again, I’d do it again,” he said in a video responding to netizens who swooned over his heroic act.

Family affair

A Jiangxi man surnamed Yu, who had volunteered to fight floods in his province without informing his family, discovered that his father was on the same volunteer team after watching a video of local flood control efforts—and later, that his grandfather was also volunteering in the area. The family members had signed up separately without telling one another, as they didn’t want other family members to worry.

Cover Image from VCG

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